


In Search of Lost Time

by momo015



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Angst, Angst and Romance, Betaed, Character Death, F/M, Falling In Love, Heartbreak, I'm Bad At Tagging, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Please read cause it's really good!, Sad Ending, Sad with a Happy Ending, Short Story, Time Skips, True Love, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:14:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24855904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/momo015/pseuds/momo015
Summary: In the centuries that he has lived, the great, powerful DaiYōkai Lord Sesshōmaru of the Western Lands, has only one regret. Choosing his duty over Rin. A regret he did not know would cost him time.Beta read by SourQueen
Relationships: Rin/Sesshoumaru (InuYasha)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 32





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! I am back with a short Inuyasha story! This was originally suppose to be the Inuyasha one shot, but that was going to be way too long, so I decided to make it into a four chapter short story. This idea was inspired from the fact that we are going to get an InuYasha sequel and I am so excited! However, this story is going to be tragedy with major character death, so please do not expect it to be all cute and fluffy. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Also side note, this story is half betad as I am still waiting for my Beta to finish the edits, but I could not help but post this because I have no will power and can't hold back when sharing something. Anyways, thank you to my lovely reviewer Sunset_Sayuri for helping me, and my lovely Betas Sour Queen, Elohiniar and LeticiaOrtiz74.
> 
> Upload first, edited version later is kinda how I roll right now so please do not mind the many spelling and grammar mistakes I made.
> 
> 6/23/2020: Edited grammar and spelling.

In Search of Lost Time

* * *

_I'm here for you when you're in need  
_ _Know you can count on me  
_ _It's alright, no need to cry  
_ _But when you do, I'm here_

 _I'll be with you, I'll be with you, my love  
__And I'll stay here beside you  
__So come my way  
_"Come"  
Inuyasha  
Ending Song

* * *

The Beginning

The day that he met her was one he will never be able to forget, as it was the day he started to notice how precious time was. It was shortly after the battle with Inuyasha when he lost his left arm that his yōkai instincts made him fly to the nearest safest spot to heal. He lied there, greatly wounded physically along with his pride. He felt his blood pour out of him as he tried to regain his strength. When he heard the small shuffle of leaves move he came on high alert and growled, trying to intimidate those who dared interrupt his rest, only for his eyes to meet hers. A small human girl, covered in dirt, cuts, and bruises all over. The sight of his yōkai face did not scare her away as she gulped her fear and courageously stepped forward. Sesshomaru shifted his face back to his humanoid form knowing that this little girl would not harm him.

It didn't take her very long to get into a routine every time she came and visited him. She would bring food and water every morning, afternoon, and night. While he had told her he did not eat human food she seemed to not understand his words as she tried to persist him into eating. She would sit as close as she dared and play with the grass until it was time for her to leave. She never spoke, never glanced at him too long, she simply sat there as if she enjoyed his silent company. This routine continued for the next four days until Sesshōmaru was completely healed.

On the morning of the fifth day she came, Sesshōmaru immediately knew something was different with the little human girl. She limped her way to him, carrying wheat grains on a leaf with new cuts and bruises, an especially fresh one on her right eye. She kneeled to his side as she always did and presented him food. When he refused to eat it she surprised him by inching closer and tried to shove the food in his face. When he still showed no interest in eating it, she sighed and looked disappointed.

"Where did you get that bruise on your face?" He asked out of curiosity. She didn't answer him, but simply looked up at him with surprise.

"You don't have to answer me if you don't want to." He looked at her with a stoic face only to see her smiling at him as if he had gifted her with the finest kimono in the world. She smiled so brightly that he could see her missing tooth.

"What are you smiling about? I simply asked you a question." She continued to smile at him as she happily went to his side and sat in her usual spot and played with the grass as she always did, but the atmosphere she was giving off was light, carefree and filled with joy. She sat with him until she had to go waving at him an energetic goodbye with that same smile as she left to go back to her village.

Sesshōmaru sat under the tree for another few hours until he felt fully rested to get up and leave. He picked up the scent of Jaken and his two headed dragons and followed it to a meadow not far away from him for his sharp ears to pick up Jaken insulting him. He punished Jaken by throwing a rock at him and as he chatted away about nonsense, his nose picked up the scent of blood and wolves. Normally, he would not bother or pay attention to it, but there was one scent he could easily recognize. A scent he had become familiar with for the past five days.

With curiosity getting the best of him, he followed the scent to the path near the village to see the human little girl lying there dead. Her eyes were open with no life in them, her neck and shoulders mauled open by claws and teeth, drenched in the pool of her own blood. A sight like this wouldn't have bothered him, it was just a human after all, but for some unknown reason it did. He stood there simply watching her dead body as he remembered their time spent together in the last five days.

One thing that he couldn't seem to understand is why this little human girl wanted to help him. In all of his life, the great Sesshōmaru-sama has never needed help from anyone. It was always the lesser Yōkai's or even humans that sought his help or his protection, but never had he met someone who was willing to care for him. This little human girl was the first to do so.

Sesshōmaru felt Tensaiga pulse with life as if demanding that he bring the little human back to life. He wielded his sword and saw death going to take her soul and slashed it in half. He sheathed his sword and kneeled down to pick her up, watching for any sign of life to begin. He was shocked when he saw her wounds, cuts, and bruises all vanish as his ears could start to hear the beating of her heart. When she opened her brown eyes, Sesshomaru knew that she would be fine. He waited, ignoring Jaken's screech of surprise and walked away back to the meadow where his two-headed dragon stood.

The little human had started to follow them for the next three days. She would trail behind him, never getting too close and always stayed quiet. She would occasionally wander off to get food and water and Sesshōmaru noticed that he would keep an eye out for any danger she could meet. Knowing that she does not belong with him, he headed to the nearest human village where her kind belonged.

"Sesshōmaru-sama, how long are you going to allow that human to follow us? She is becoming a menace." Jaken asked looking back at the human girl who was skipping with a handful of flowers she picked on the side of the road.

"Leave her be." Sesshōmaru ordered. He glanced behind him as well when he saw her skipping closer and closer to him as she headed to his direction. He stopped walking to see what she wanted and saw her smile brightly and run to his side holding up the patch of flowers in her hands.

"What do you think you're doing you pesky human?! SHOO!" Jaken yelled furiously, startling her with his loud voice. She dropped the flowers she picked and cowered in fear at Jaken's tone moving closer to Sesshōmaru to grip his mokomoko for comfort. Sesshōmaru moved to shield her from Jaken and glared down at his servant.

"I said to leave her be." He said seeing Jaken bow his head in shame as he walked away with the little human by his side. "Pick up the flowers too, Jaken."

Sesshōmaru paid no attention to Jaken's apologies and continued walking closer to the human village. He stared up at the sky calculating that by nightfall they shall arrive at their destination. During their walk there, Jaken had picked up the flowers she had dropped and gave them back to her, only for her to give them to Sesshōmaru. Sesshōmaru didn't glance at her attempt at the gift saying that he had no use for them. She apparently didn't properly understand his words as she just smiled and played with the flowers until they formed a crown. Her attempt to give him the flower crown was futile and she showed no sadness to it as she put it on the two-headed dragon instead.

When they could see the village lights upon entering, Sesshomaru noticed that the little human had become less and less inclined to go further. She walked closer to him, fear evident in her eyes as she looked for any sign of danger coming her way. Sesshomaru headed to a hut that was occupied by the noise of a family with a daughter. Hopefully, they will be able to take care of this little girl. Upon entering the hut and Jaken's yelling at the humans to be quiet from their screams, he explained that he needed this little girl to be cleaned and given new kimono and food. The mother was fearful, and quickly followed his order and asked for the little human girl to follow her to the baths. But she refused to leave his side.

"Go." Sesshōmaru said, looking down as she pressed herself closer into his mokomoko as if she wanted to hide in it. She shook her head, trembling and she looked up at him with hurt eyes. Her expression deeply showed betrayal with tears about to roll down her eyes.

Seeing such an expression on her face, Sesshōmaru couldn't help but feel responsible for the little girl now. The cause of her tears was him. Even though he does not know what it was like to take care of a human, Sesshōmaru was confident that he can do a better job than humans. After all, he would make sure that she won't ever be harmed again.

"I will be here when you come back." He said seeing her tears stop subside, but that didn't seem to help make her go with the woman to the baths. Reluctantly she followed, but her eyes never left him until he was no longer in sight.

"Sesshōmaru-sama, shall we get going now that that pesky human is no longer with us?" Jaken asked standing near the entrance way of the hut.

"Quiet Jaken." Sesshōmaru ordered. He didn't have to wait very long before the little girl came running back completely clean of dirt and blood with a new kimono designed in checkered orange and yellow squares with green circles.

"I-I hope you are satisfied." The woman said desperately as she handed the bento of food to the little girl. Sesshōmaru didn't even look at her as he turned around and walked out of the hut, Jaken and the human girl following closely behind him.

"We will stop here for tonight. Jaken, make a fire." He announced finding a tree comfortable enough to sit under. The two-headed dragon lied down, resting at the command as Jaken went into the woods to find branches to build a fire.

The little human sat close to him and opened her bento, filled with fried fish, onigiri and dried fruit. She evenly divided her food and offered it to the Yōkais. Sesshōmaru refused as always, not that the little girl was surprised. Jaken had a look of shock on his face at her action and yelled at her before being silenced by Sesshōmaru to be quiet or else he will be killed. The little girl left the food next to him and went to give the other portion of food to the two-headed dragon who ate it gently off her hands and thanked her by nuzzling her palms. She smiled at their gesture and skipped back to her seat to eat her share of food quietly.

Under the moonlight, Sesshōmaru glanced at the little girl who laid close to him, huddled together on the grass, her brown eyes simply staring at him with wonder. They looked at each for a moment before she looked away with a smile on her face.

"Rin." She whispered in a soft voice, "My name is Rin."

Sesshomaru continued to watch at her, unaffected by her words.

"Go to sleep Rin." He said.

* * *

When Sesshōmaru picked Rin up to join him on his journey to destroy Naraku, he had never experienced a day without quietness. It did not take Rin very long to start talking and as soon as she did, she became a lively little thing. Unlike Jaken, who was just annoying when he rambled, Rin's bright voice made Sesshōmaru feel at peace. Her chatter of nonsensical things was the very kind of distraction Sesshōmaru needed when he became bored of thinking.

"Look Jaken-sama! Over there!" Rin cheered happily as she splashed in the waters trying to catch some fish for dinner tonight. Jaken was not very good at catching fish as he kept struggling to get his grip on them. Rin laughed at his attempts and went to put her fish down on the grass as she tried to catch more.

Sesshōmaru perched himself under a tree watching from the distance of his companions having fun. Rin soon caught another fish and immediately ran to him with her signature bright smile.

"Sesshōmaru-sama! Look at how many fish I caught!" Rin cheered, showing him the twelve fish she caught, "Jaken-sama could only catch two."

"That's because you cheated, silly girl!" Jaken yelled scolding Rin as he caught up to her.

"Did not!" Rin whined defending herself as she stuck out her tongue. They continued with their bickering for the next several minutes, until Sesshōmaru had enough of their banter.

"Enough." He ordered, standing up from his tree to go and get some quiet.

"Yes Sesshōmaru-sama!" Rin, said taking six of her fish to A-Un.

Sesshōmaru watched as Rin gave the two-headed dragon each three fish and came running back to give Jaken another one of her fish. Sesshōmaru noticed a habit Rin had developed since she joined; she always shared her food to feed Jaken and A-Un. She had stopped giving him food after he had told her that he does not need to eat as frequently as humans do. That seemed to make her understand and praise him for being able to last so long without food.

With Rin being by his side, Sesshōmaru had noticed a change in dynamic to his group that he had not seen before. Everyone's behavior seemed to become fluid as Rin was the anchor. She could easily keep up an argument with Jaken and talk about everything and anything. She treated A-Un with very good care as she had named them, fed them and included them in games she had with Jaken. And finally, she knew exactly how to keep him company without being a nuisance. While Rin can change her mood to perfectly match with those around her, she was the most peaceful when she was around him, Sesshōmaru noticed.

After saving Rin from the monks who tried to bring her back to a human village, Rin asked a question that made Sesshōmaru wonder about human's longevity.

" _If I died one day, would you always remember me?_ "

Of course, he would always remember her. She was the first human he enjoys the company of. The first companion he did not find irritating and could make Jaken less annoying. A silly question to ask, he told her, but deep down he knew he will always bring her back with Tensaiga.

Only he realized too late, he couldn't. After a year of having Rin traveling with him, did Sesshōmaru realize just how important Rin was to him, although he would never verbally admit it out loud. She is the foundation that keeps his group together, the one who takes care of everyone when he is not around. The only who brings happiness to him by her mere presence with her silly talks, songs, and games. Having her no longer by his side was unimaginable.

One thing that Sesshōmaru did not see through thoroughly by allowing Rin to accompany him was how much of a weakness Rin had become to him. A weakness that all of his enemies have used against him, especially Naraku. But one enemy he did not think he would have to encounter so close was death. Sesshōmaru promised himself that he would always protect Rin from harm and even death itself. He had ignorantly believed that if he failed to protect Rin from death, then he could easily rely on Tensaiga to bring her back, but now discovering that he couldn't made him feel two emotions he has never felt before. Sadness and grief of losing someone special. His mother was right. He was too prideful in believing himself to be God of having Tensaiga to always bring back Rin.

"Tensaiga can only bring someone back to life once, Sesshōmaru. You needed to learn how life is a precious thing." His mother scolded, as he watched Rin's dead body lie there unmoving. Human life really was a precious thing. How stupid he had become in search of great power to obtain to not see the serious consequences. Nothing, absolutely nothing can compare to Rin's life. No power or sword can ever compare to her and he was blinded to not realize the danger he had put her in.

The moment he saw Rin open her eyes, great relief and joy washed over him. In that moment of time, he promised to never put Rin in danger ever again. To never again trade power in exchange for her life. And those who dared try to harm her, will face immediate and painful death. She was the sun he revolved around.

* * *

Shortly after the defeat of Naraku and the miko returning to her own time and his half-brother still mourning her presence, the old miko pulled him aside and asked what he had planned to do with Rin.

"Explain," He said walking inside her hut.

"I mean, what do you plan to do now that Naraku is no longer among us? Do you plan to have Rin continue traveling with you through your dangerous journey?" She asked.

Sesshōmaru understood her words. She believes that his path is far too dangerous for Rin to follow. While he knows he should agree with her reason, another part of him does not want her to leave his side. But then he remembered her second death and knew he had to choose the safest option for Rin's safety. He also has his duty to return as the Lord of the West and patrol his lands, Sesshōmaru knew Rin at this age would not survive well by being with him or his court.

"Allow her to live with humans for a while and grow accustomed to them once again to heal the trauma she endured in the past. When she is of age she can choose to decide if she wants to continue living with the humans or to follow you." The old miko said trying to appease his sour mood.

Sesshōmaru knew how reluctant he was of allowing this to happen as he has told himself Rin will be safe in this village. Inuyasha, the monk, the old miko, and the female demon slayer all live in this village and who can protect Rin from any danger.

"Rin will be in your care then. But should anything happen to her, I will reign Hell over this entire village." Sesshōmaru threatened to the miko who nodded her head.

Sesshōmaru left the hut to go and find Rin playing with the kitsune as he transformed into various things. Upon seeing his presence, Rin beamed in delight. She got up from her seat and ran to him with a smile.

"Come Rin. Jaken, stay here." He ordered, turning away to find a private area to talk to Rin. She closely followed behind him, humming as she skipped each step. Once Sesshōmaru found a secluded area he turned to face her.

"I spoke to the miko of this village," He began seeing her smile start to drop, "and we agreed that it is too dangerous for you to continue following me. You are to stay with her in this village and learn the ways of the humans."

"No," Rin whispered, shaking her head furiously, "I'm not going to stay here. I won't! I won't ever stay here!" Rin yelled, shocking him. Never in the times they have spent together had Rin ever refused his wishes. She was always so eager to please him and would do anything for him.

"I don't want to stay here. I want to be with you Sesshōmaru-sama! Won't you let me stay by your side?!" She pleaded as he looked at her in the eyes to see the hurt and betrayal he had not seen ever since they first went into that village a year ago. Tears started to pour down her eyes as she furiously wiped them away, muttering how she won't stay in the village.

"Have I done something to greatly upset you? Is that why you are abandoning me? If I have, please let me apologize and tell me how to fix it! I can be good! I will be good! I promise. I won't get into any more fights with Jaken-sama! I won't get in danger anymore and can learn to fight. I promise to never ever get in your way. Please, Sesshōmaru-sama, don't leave me behind! I want to be with you forever!" She cried out harder, more tears pouring out of her eyes.

Seeing her cry so much made him feel guilty about his actions, but he knows that it was the right thing to do. He kneeled down as he always does when talking to her and patted her head, hoping it would sooth her crying, but it didn't. It made her sob louder than before. Knowing how deeply hurt Rin was, Sesshōmaru allowed himself to do something he had never done before. He wrapped his arms around Rin and pressed her close to his mokomoko. He petted her head as she gripped his sleeve and pressed herself against him, clinging to him as if he would disappear that very moment.

"Rin," he said once her sobs quieted down, "I will never abandon you."

"But," she hiccupped, "you're leaving me here. In this human village."

"That is because I am going on a dangerous journey to the Western Lands," he spoke truthfully, "You understand how you cannot come with me during these dangerous missions, right? Like how I leave you with Jaken and A-Un when I am gone. It will be just like that, except you will have so many friends your age to play with. To reassure you that you are not being abandoned, I will come and visit you as often as I can. And as you are living here, you will learn so many things that even I, the great Sesshōmaru, won't know about. You will be under the best care of the old miko. She can teach you to properly defend yourself and when I come and visit you, you can tell me all about what you have learned." Rin looked up at him with hesitant eyes, but nodded, knowing she couldn't refuse him.

"But do you promise to visit me?" She asked with hope. Sesshōmaru nodded his head.

"I will try and visit you as many times as I can. And when you get older you will be given a choice." Sesshōmaru said.

"A choice?" Rin asked, tilting her head.

"Hm. When you come of age, the old miko and I have agreed that you will have the power to choose where you want to be. You can continue living with the humans or you can come and live with me in the Western Lands. I want you to have the option to choose without blindly picking one when you have never experienced the other." He reassured.

Rin pressed her face against his mokomoko and reluctantly nodded her head in agreement. Sesshōmaru continued to pet her head as she prolonged his hug until she was satisfied and stepped away from him. She held out her hand in a fist with her pinky up in the air.

"Promise me that you won't forget about me." She said softly with a sad smile. Sesshōmaru sighed at seeing such an expression.

"I promise." He vowed. Rin grabbed his left hand and hooked his pinky with her. She chanted a strange rhyme which seemed to have boosted up her mood greatly.

Sesshōmaru headed back to the miko's hut with Rin close to him, holding his hand. From what he could see of Inuyasha and his companions' face, they knew that Rin will be living among them. While Rin says her goodbyes to Jaken and A-Un, Inuyasha stepped forward to speak with him.

"I'll watch over her and make sure she is safe." He murmured.

"I expect you to, because if not, I will kill everyone here." Sesshōmaru said back nonchalantly.

"Nothing less I would expect then." Inuyasha said going back to his group as Rin approached him again. She wrapped herself around him once more in a hug and sniffed with sadness.

"I will miss you terribly Sesshōmaru-sama. I am already waiting for you to visit me." Sesshōmaru petted her head one last time before he flew up in the air with Jaken on A-Un following him as they headed to the Western Lands. It was time for Sesshōmaru to finally rule his nation.

* * *

Over the past seven years since he had left Rin in the human village, no matter how many times he visited, Sesshōmaru was always surprised to see how much she had grown. From the little lost child who glued herself to him at every moment, transformed into a lovely charming young woman who would now come of age. In the seven years she had lived there, Sesshōmaru made a routine to try and visit her whenever he was traveling patrolling the Eastern border, staying for a fortnight until he had to go back to the Western Palace.

On his way to the village, Sesshōmaru looked down at the gifts he bought to celebrate his ward's sixteenth birthday, hoping she would like the things he chose for her. When he reached the village, he saw Inuyasha already outside with his mate and pup. He landed on the ground with A-Un and walked towards his little brother who already had a smirk on his face.

"Wow, you sure brought more gifts this time. Is this your way of apologizing to Rin for missing her birthdays three years in a row?" Inuyasha noted as he looked to see his two-headed dragon carrying his gifts. Sesshōmaru ignored his comment and instead greeted his brother's mate.

"Inuyasha, stop being annoying," His mate said as she smiled at Sesshōmaru, "it's nice to see you again, Sesshōmaru. Rin isn't here at the moment, she went down by the river with Shippo and the twins to play."

Sesshōmaru nodded his head, already knowing that when he couldn't immediately get a fresh scent of Rin upon entering the village. He went to A-Un to unpack his beautifully wrapped gifts. As he unpacked he heared the jealous whispers of the female villagers complaining about how Rin kept getting the most beautiful expensive gifts in the world. As always, Sesshōmaru ignored such comments being made. As long as they did not bother or hurt Rin, then he has no feelings towards their greed.

"Sesshōmaru-sama!" He heard his name being yelled by a delighted Rin. He turned around to see her, soaked from head to toe as she ran towards him, a smile so big and bright it almost made him smile.

"Rin," He greeted her as always as he walked towards her, "I hope you have fared well." Rin energetically nodded her head and threw her arms around him in a hug. One of her favorite things to do when she saw him.

"Yes! But I have missed you greatly!" she said, tightening her hug.

"Hm," Sesshōmaru said, petting her wet hair as his way of showing affection. Just eight months ago since he last visited, Rin has already grown up so much. In the seven years that Rin had stayed here, Sesshōmaru had discovered just how fast humans grow. In his Yōkai sense of time, it felt like just half a year to him that he had met her and now to see her at the age of sixteen was shocking.

Rin released him from her hug and turned to look behind to see A-Un, and cheered as she ran over to them. A-Un made noises of happiness when they saw her and eagerly trotted to her. Rin, as always, gave them lots of hugs and pets along with their favorite foods.

"Sesshōmaru-sama," Rin spoke, her voice shifting to a serious one. Sesshōmaru looked at his ward in a curious manner, ever rarely seeing her being serious. "Now that I am sixteen, I wanted to inform you that I have made my choice."

Sesshōmaru felt his breath get taken away. He had almost forgotten about this. He felt his heart beat faster in suspense at wanting to know her answer. Rin walked up to face him, her expression completely free of emotion, a technique she easily picked up from him.

"I want to join you again on your journey," she said softly, "while I loved living here in this village and have learned so much from Kaede-san, Kagome-san, Jinenji-san and everyone else, my place is not here. It is with you. If you allow me to travel with you again, that is."

Sesshōmaru let out a breath he didn't even know he held and stroked Rin's head affectionately. It must have been difficult for her to make such a big decision. Honestly, Sesshōmaru was expecting Rin to ask him to prolong her choice as she is now finally the age where human women look for mates to reproduce with. He would have assumed Rin would want the chance to find a mate and make a family. But the thought of a human male touching her in such a sexual way easily made his anger spike.

"As you wish Rin." He said, grabbing one of her gifts from inside his sleeve. He handed it to her as she looked at it with a smile.

"As always Sesshōmaru-sama, you spoil me too much with your gifts." Rin said looking at the amounts of gifts she received. She unwrapped the gift and gasped in amazement at the hair pin. A purple moon stone shaped inside a silver crescent elegantly decorated with white pearls beads stringing down.

"This–It's beautiful Sesshōmaru-sama," Rin admired, hugging him once more. She released him from her hug and handed him the pin, "Will you?" she asked.

Sesshōmaru took the pin from her hand and gently pinned it into her hair. He admired how beautiful the silver, purple, and white contrasted with her raven black hair.

"You really spoil me too much." Rin commented touching the pin, running her fingers over the crescent.

"You do not like being spoiled by me?" he asked, confused. Usually women love it when men shower them with various kinds of gifts, especially female Yōkais. Rin shook her head and smiled.

"I only want to be spoiled by your company." Rin said, flustering with embarrassment.

Sesshōmaru allowed himself to smirk at her comment. When Rin started her moon cycle, she had been bold to show her interest in him. Every time he visited her, her boldness never ceases to amaze him at what sly, quick-witted or sardonic comment she would say to catch his full attention. While she had enormous courage to show her interest at an early age, Sesshōmaru did not see her in that way. In his mind, he still saw her as the young child he saved and protect. His little brother's mate had told him in the past that it was quite common for human girls at this age to notice the opposite sex and develop 'crushes' on them. She said that Rin was just very bold to come and publicly express her feelings.

"Then I shall spoil you with my company," He said leaning down to lightly kiss her forehead, "Happy birthday Rin."

Sesshōmaru saw her face get redden as she looked at him with wide disbelieving eyes. For a moment, he too, couldn't believe he did such a thing on purpose without thinking it through. It was the first time he had ever kissed her. She opened and closed her mouth, gaping repeatedly like her mind could not be able to process what he had just done.

"But – you – I –" Rin stuttered flushed at the kiss, "that–that's not fair!" She whined falling down on her knees to cover her face from embarrassment.

"What is it not fair Rin?" Sesshōmaru asked with humor as he kneeled down in front of her, trying to catch her embarrassed expression.

"I wasn't ready!" she responded and uncovered her red face before her eyes quickly shined with determination, "Do it again!"

Since Rin started to show her interest in him, Sesshōmaru started to like seeing the various different kinds of reactions she produced when he teased her. From happiness, to embarrassment, to shy, Sesshōmaru liked to see all of them. It made Rin look so alive and present to be all pent up with emotions.

Later that evening they celebrated Rin's birthday in Inuyasha's hut with her friends. Everyone gave her small gifts and trinkets and each told embarrassing stories about her, much to Rin's horror. Sesshōmaru listened to everyone's stories and laughter sitting in the corner of the room drinking the fine sake he brought. He never interacted with Rin's friends on her birthday, he always just sits there with his presence. As the moon rose higher in the sky and with Rin's friends gone, Sesshōmaru perched himself up on top of a tree branch, watching the beautiful moonlight shining down on the field below. The wind blowing the grass in the moonlight made them look like waves.

"Sesshōmaru-sama." Rin whispered as she stepped out of the hut. Sesshōmaru looked down to see Rin looking up at him in her night robes.

"You should be sleeping, Rin. You must be tired." He commented as he lowered his mokomoko and wrapped it around Rin to easily lift her up and place her next to him. Rin leaned against his body, resting her head on his shoulder as she played with his smooth, silky hair.

"I'm not sleepy just yet." She said, joining him at watching the moon rise higher in the night sky.

"What ails you to cause you not to be tired?" Sesshōmaru looked down from the corner of his eye to see Rin press herself closer to him.

"The fact that I can finally leave with you. I've missed you very much, and Jaken-sama and A-Un. While I love being here with everyone, I miss traveling with you." She said.

"Rin, by choosing the path to follow me, you do realize that you will be living in the Western Palace?" Sesshōmaru asked needing Rin to know in full detail just what she is agreeing to.

"Hm." Rin nodded her head, closing her eyes with a smile.

"You will continue living as my ward in my palace and be the only human there. I will not be able to spend all my time with you as I will have meetings and patrols to do. You cannot easily see everyone in this village anymore either. You will know no one once you come with me. Won't you feel lonely?" he asked, concerned for her wellbeing of not being able to have any of her friends being with her. Rin shook her head and gripped his arm.

"Whenever I'm with you, I can never feel lonely, Sesshōmaru-sama. I promised to always follow you and I intend to keep that promise." Rin whispered.

Sesshōmaru looked down at the young woman resting her head against his shoulder and sighed. While he was happy Rin is choosing to follow him, he was concerned for her social acceptance. Having no other human to interact within his castle or anyone who was close in age with her, Sesshōmaru thought about what kind of friends Rin would be able to make with the limited options.

Seeing Rin look so peaceful as she rested her head on his shoulder, Sesshōmaru decided to spoil her once again with a kiss on the forehead as he had declined to give her another one early that afternoon. As his lips were about to reach her forehead, Rin slyly shifted her head up so that his lips would meet hers producing a soft, swift kiss. Sesshōmaru's eyes widen at his ward's sneaky tactics. Rin's big brown eyes looked at him with pure happiness, her face flustered with embarrassment as she smiled her signature sunshine-bright smile.

"I told you I preferred being spoiled by your company. This is by far the best gift you could have ever given me on my birthday." She said before giggling and burying her face in his mokomoko. She plopped her head down on his lap like she used to do when she was a child.

Sesshōmaru sat there, still shocked by her tactics. He brushed his lips against his finger, not believing what she had just done and looked down at her hidden face still feeling the imprint of her lips on his. Rin peeked her eyes out of his mokomoko and giggled, her soft voice starting to hum a lullaby.

 _Shine, bright morning light  
_ _Now in the air the spring is coming  
_ _Sweet blowing wind  
_ _Singing down the hills and valleys_

 _Keep your eyes on me  
_ _Now we're on the edge of Hell_  
_Dear my love, sweet morning light  
_ _Wait for me, you've gone much farther, too far…_

Sesshōmaru closed his eyes while listening to Rin sing. Her voice transformed from the high pitch off key songs to heavenly melodies. He looked down at her again to see her eyes closed, fast asleep and buried in his mokomoko. She had indeed become a beautiful young woman before his very eyes.


	2. The Middle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there is the second chapter, I hope you guys like it.
> 
> I've had a lot of fun writing this short story. I don't know why, but this story seems to be easier for me to write than my other ones. I am currently writing the third and last chapter, besides the epilogue, so I'm taking my time to not rush it. I'll hopefully post it soon.
> 
> Like before, post first and then update the edited one later. :)
> 
> Thank you SourQueen for being my Beta.
> 
> 07/05/2020: Edited grammar and spelling

Come _my way  
_ _Let the light come and find you  
_ _Come close to me  
_ _Oh, the stars will guide you_

_Come my way  
_ _Close your eyes, I will guide you  
_ _Come close to me  
_ _In your dreams I will find you  
_ "Come"  
Inuyasha  
Ending Song

* * *

The Middle

After Rin's birthday passed, Sesshōmaru extended his stay in the village for three weeks much to Rin's delight. He spent the majority of his time with her, doing whatever she does in her free time. When she was helping his brother's mate or doing chores, he would be with Inuyasha having sparring matches, both wanting to know who is more powerful without the malicious intent to kill. When Rin was working, Sesshōmaru observed just how connected she was with the village community. How everyone seemed to know her and treat her as a close friend. Sesshōmaru felt he understood the old miko's words about Rin living in the village. It had helped heal the trauma she had suffered by the previous humans in her old village. It made her learn that not all humans are evil as she had believed.

After the three weeks passed, Sesshōmaru had decided it was time for him to go back to the Western Palace to prepare for Rin's arrival. He left telling Rin to say her goodbyes and to pack up her stuff as he will come for her in five days. Rin nodded her head happily and followed his orders.

When Sesshōmaru arrived on the fifth day of being away, the whole village stood before Rin crying as they bid their goodbyes. His brother's mate cried the most as she kept pulling Rin into a hug screaming how much she will miss her and promised her to come and visit. He prolonged Rin to say goodbye by allowing his servants load the chariot of her belongings first and fly back to the palace. He would return with Rin riding on A-Un.

"Goodbye everyone," Rin said, brushing away her tears as she got on A-Un, "Thank you all for your kindness and I will miss everyone. I promise to visit too!"

Rin waved at everyone as they began to fly up higher and higher into the sky until she could no longer see them. Sesshōmaru sat behind her on A-Un offering her his mokomoko as comfort for saying goodbye to all her friends. After several hours of feeling sad, Rin tried to brighten up her mood by asking him various questions about his palace. From how big it was, to how long ago was it built, if he grew up there, what the Yōkais were like, etc. Sesshōmaru tried his best to answer all of her questions but also omitted some parts he knew would make her upset, like his harem, his dungeons used for torture, and more.

"Sesshōmaru-sama," Rin said after another two hours of flying in silence.

"Hm?" he asked, glancing at his side as he flew beside her on A-Un.

"Why are we flying higher?" She asked, making Sesshōmaru inwardly smirk as he had been waiting for her to ask her this question knowing it would make her very excited.

"Because the only way to get to the Western Palace is by flying. Each four nations have their unique place for where their palace resides. For the Western Palace, it is up above the clouds in the sky." Sesshōmaru answered, seeing Rin's face light up at his response. A big bright smile appeared on her face as she began to look out for his palace.

"Then what about the rest of the nations?" she asked curiously.

"The North's Palace is under the sea protected by ice and snow; for the East's Palace it is hidden between mountains and forests; and the South's Palace it is inside a volcano blocked by the smoke. If you are not granted access to the palace by the Lord of the region then you cannot ever find the palace." Sesshōmaru explained.

"Wow, Sesshōmaru-sama, that is amazing! I can't wait to learn more about the Western Lands!" Rin cheered as they could start to see the outline of his palace in the sky. Once they reached the courtyard of the palace, swarms of various Yōkais could be seen quickly gathering around to greet them with respectful bows.

"Kokō Heika ( _His Majesty the King_ ) welcome back." Everyone greeted in unison as Sesshōmaru landed on the ground with Rin by side.

"Sesshōmaru-sama!" Jaken voice screamed as he ran over to greet him with his bow, "Forgive me for being late in greeting you–"

"Jaken-sama!" Rin gasped as she quickly ran to give him a hug, "I have missed you so much! It's been too long since I last saw you."

"Rin!" Jaken yelled flabbergasted as he struggled out of her grasp, "W-what are you doing here, you foolish girl?!"

"Rin has decided to now live in the Western Palace," Sesshōmaru said seeing various Yōkais, especially members of his court and harem whisper as to why he had a human girl with him.

"She is _my_ ward and I expect everyone to treat her with the highest respect as though you were addressing me." He spoke putting heavy emphasis on the word _my_ to prevent any of his subjects to not mistreat her unkindly, or else they will face his wrath and punishment.

"Yes Kokō-dono." His subjects said, they bowed his heads understanding his command.

Rin let go of Jaken as she stood up and really looked around her surroundings and she closely examined the Yōkais. Some of the Yōkais in front of her were the most beautiful beings she has ever seen. They looked like they could be in paintings or are gods themselves, especially the females in their expensive kimonos, hairstyles and makeup. Rin immediately felt subconscious about her looks as she compared herself to them. In terms of beauty and body shape as she quickly tried to remove some of the dirt from her yukata and hands. Feeling the negativity from being around them, Rin turned away not wanting to dwell longer on the endless thoughts of how she can never compete with them. She turned her attention to Sesshōmaru-sama.

"Sesshōmaru-sama, can we please see the garden you were telling me about? I want to see what kinds of flowers you have here." she asked, turning to look at him. She tried not to pay much attention to the quick whispers surrounding her as she could hear them ask why she was addressing him in such an informal way. Rin thought that she wasn't addressing him any differently than usual or what Jaken-sama normally says.

"Nm, I'll show you the way." Sesshōmaru told her as he nodded to Jaken to have all of Rin's things be sent to her room. He led her across the courtyard to the back of the palace where his flower gardens resided. Unlike the North and South, the East and West experience all of the four seasons and right now, all the flowers are in full bloom for Rin to happily enjoy. Sesshōmaru knew most of the women in his harem also enjoyed the gardens to sit and relax, so when they entered and saw six female Yōkais lounging around he was not surprised. However, he was surprised to see his favorite, Susuki, to be in the garden as well. Usually she was inside reading at this time as the sun would be too bright for her. Once one of them noticed him coming their way, all of them quickly scrambled to greet him with bows as they fixed their attire.

"Leave right now." He ordered, seeing them all looked up at Rin curiously. Everyone, except Susuki, followed his order without hesitation, but that didn't stop their questioning eyes.

"That order also applies to you too Susuki. Don't think you are the exception." Sesshōmaru said annoyed that she did not follow his order like the rest of his harem. Susuki looked up from her bow and flashed Sesshōmaru with a polite smile. Allowing her Inu beauty to shine in the sunlight.

"Forgive me, Kokō-dono, I like the rest of your harem, am quite curious as to who this little human is. It has been several centuries since all of us have last seen one. So, for you to bring one here to your palace has piqued everyone's curiosity, even ours." Susuki softly said baring her neck in submission as an apology. Sesshōmaru sighed in annoyance again. While he knew Susuki did not mean harm by her actions and words, for Rin to find out about his harem like this was most unfortunate for him. He glanced behind him to see Rin looking down as she twiddled with her fingers nervously. Sesshōmaru waved his hand, dismissing Susuki as he went to Rin's side.

"Rin." He addressed her not exactly knowing what to say when the subject of his harem is being brought up. Rin shook her head and smiled at him. A fake smile he has hardly seen to make herself appear happy.

"You don't need to explain yourself, Sesshōmaru-sama. I already know." Rin walked past him as she went to the see all the various kinds of flowers his garden had to offer. Sesshōmaru sighed again and walked with Rin, following her as she searched his whole garden and answering questions about them.

Sesshōmaru had decided to cancel the banquet that was going to be hosted for Rin's arrival to his palace, hoping to have dinner with just them to boost Rin's mood. With the way that Rin had been acting all day since seeing his harem, had made him concerned. He has never seen Rin look so melancholy before, it did not fit her personality very well to be so gloomy.

"Tomorrow morning you shall meet your personal maid, Shizuku. Shall you ever need anything just tell her and she will get it to you." Sesshōmaru explained to Rin about her personal handmaid she will be meeting tomorrow. He hoped Rin likes her for he had personally handpicked her new handmaid.

"Thank you very much Sesshōmaru-sama." Rin said muttered barely touching her food, not even taking a bite out of her fish; it was her favorite food to eat. Seeing this, Sesshōmaru knew that what Rin felt is nothing like emotions he has dealt with before.

"Are you still upset about meeting my harem Rin?" Sesshōmaru asked forwardly. He was not going to try and ignore the cause for Rin's depressed mood anymore. It was time they finally discussed about Rin's feelings towards him, whether she liked it or not. Sesshōmaru stayed silent for the next few minutes allowing Rin time to speak whatever was on her troubled mind.

"I knew you already had a harem, Sesshōmaru-sama. Inuyasha-sama had already explained to me what to expect if I decided to live here," she finally said dejectedly, "you are the Lord to the Western Lands, how could you not have one with your position of power and handsome looks. I know that one day you will need to marry and have an heir and that you have a handful of beautiful candidates to choose from. But when seeing them and really acknowledging them, it made me realize the reality of being alive."

"What do you mean?" Sesshōmaru asked, concerned by the seriousness Rin was talking in this conversation. He had never heard her speak like this before, so beautifully and yet grim.

"I am human. Time will never slow down for me like it does for Yōkais. If I am lucky enough to live to be seventy, that will feel like a blink of an eye for you and yet for me, it will be my whole entire life. My whole existence. I am not breath takingly beautiful like your harem, even your most ugly one will look stunning when standing next to me. I have nothing to offer you compared to them. Not my looks, intelligence, social status, wealth, or even my body. It was stupid of me to think that I could compete and win over your heart. I'm sorry Sesshōmaru-sama for wasting your time. For having to deal with a lowly human like me for the past eight years." Rin explained fighting the tears that were close to spilling out of her eyes. She does not want to cry in front of him. She knew that it would hurt when she had to face Sesshōmaru-sama's harem, but she just didn't realize how painful it would be.

"Excuse me." Rin said standing up to leave. But Sesshōmaru didn't give her the option to leave as he pulled her into his arms to hug her.

"Forgive me for not noticing your pain more clearly." He said, disliking himself for being the cause of her pain. He hated how blind he was to not even see that this is what has been eating at her, causing her to be so depressed.

"You have nothing to apologize for. I do not blame you, but myself for my foolish feelings." Rin sniffed, burying her face in his chest spilling her tears out.

"Rin," Sesshōmaru said knowing he needed to choose his words wisely for this next delicate part, "I am sorry that I cannot return your romantic affections towards me. I can only see you as the little girl who tried to help me."

Rin nodded her head knowing that this would happen and felt her heart ache terribly. Kagome-san said that being rejected by the one you love most is the most painful thing in the world. Almost equally like welcoming a babe into the world. And now Rin can truly understand her mentor's words. It is the most painful thing she has ever felt in her life. Worse than when she died the first time by the wolves.

"I know," Rin said, pushing away from Sesshōmaru's warmth, "but that doesn't change the fact that I still love you, even though you do not return my feelings."

Sesshōmaru did not know what to say other than nod his head and watch as Rin left. He knew that he did the right thing though by rejecting her. It was not his first time and it most likely won't be his last time rejecting a woman's love for him; however, having to reject Rin in such a cruel way and not knowing what to say to comfort her made him angry. He knew that by rejecting Rin early on would cause her great pain, but the pain will soon heal and allow her to find another mate who can return her feelings unlike him.

Sesshōmaru looked up at the place where Rin had left and decided that she needed some personal time to herself. He will tell Shizuku tomorrow morning to show Rin the beautiful parts around the palace to cheer up her mood. He called for the servants to clear the food away but leave the sake as he would need a drink tonight. He pondered the thought of maybe visiting Susuki but decided against it to respect Rin who is hurting and crying her eyes out from the sound of her aching heart.

* * *

After the rejection of Rin's feelings, Sesshōmaru soon realized that Rin had started to avoid him. It was first subtle, nothing he would think twice about when she canceled their first few dinners. But when she started to not join him on their strolls in the gardens he started to suspect that something was wrong. While it bothered him greatly at being avoided like this, he knew it was still because she was hurting which he had allowed to happen. He knew that she needed time to let herself heal over the pain and will come to him when she is ready.

During the times when Rin would say no his attempts to be in her company, he had decided to redirect his attention to Susuki. When Rin did not wish to eat with him, he would dine with Susuki, when Rin didn't show up for their strolls in the garden, he would invite Susuki instead. For any moment Rin wasn't with him, he was with Susuki.

But none of that meant that he could not watch his ward from afar. He sat in his chair, staring out of the window in his study where it overlooked the hidden garden. The garden that Rin was currently in. He saw her smiling and laughing as she commented on the story her personal maid was telling her.

"That is so amazing Shizuku-chan, I didn't know you could summon the rain! Will you please show me one day?" Rin asked cheerfully, completely ignoring the flower crown in her hands. Shizuku nodded her head, feeling a bit bashful at Rin's praise and cheerfulness.

Sesshōmaru looked down from his view, his golden eyes only focused on Rin's expression. It had been so long since he had last seen anything of her other than a quick glimpse in their passing. He realized he had missed her company dearly. The way she talked, laughed, and even her sunshine personality that poured out happiness and attached to anyone. But most importantly, he had really missed the way she smiled. Unlike the time when Rin was living in the human village when he could only visit her every few months, this was complete torture to him. Rin was right here in front of him, so close and yet she was so far away. The farthest away he has ever felt from her.

He stared down at the map laid out on the floor of his war meeting room, not listening or focusing on what his generals are saying. His mind only knowing that it has been over three months since Rin had avoided his company. Three long and painful months of just watching her from afar.

"Kokō-dono, what do you think of this issue in the South? Do you think we should act now or wait?" asked one of his high-ranking generals.

Sesshōmaru snapped his thoughts away from Rin and looked down at the map quickly scanning what issue they were discussing. A rebellion in the South, close to their border, was forming and his generals were concerned that the idea of one may corrupt the minds of his subjects into starting one as well.

"Do we know how big the rebellion has gotten yet?" He asked.

One of his generals stood up and bowed before speaking.

"At the moment it is not a very big one, just a few Yōkais from small villages. However, I believe that Yōkais will be starting rumors of conspiracy to overthrow their government and then it will soon be too big to handle. Since the rebellions are close to our border, I fear your people will start a rebellion of their own. We should get rid of these lesser Yōkais at once before they corrupt anyone else with their mindless ideals. Allow me and a dozen highly trained soldiers to take care of these Kokō-dono." He said bowing his head.

Sesshōmaru took his words into consideration, thinking them over. He looked down at the map, not liking just how close the rebellions are spreading to the West and South border. If rebellion spread to his lands, and support the overthrowing any forms of government, then which nation will they start with? Logically it would be easier to target the Western capital as it was closer than the Southern one, but one point to take into consideration was maybe the rebels only want to overthrow the Southern capital as they are living under their rule. While the idea of taking these rebels out as soon as possible appealed to him, killing those who are not his subjects may start a war with the Southern Lands. A war he wanted to avoid after centuries of peace between them.

"We cannot send soldiers there to stop the rebels as they are not an immediate threat to us yet. If we were to do that, then the South may see us as being hostile and will start an all-out war between these two nations. While I dislike the fact that their rebellions are so close to our border, we will wait for now and see how the South handles this situation as it is their problem. I will write a letter to their ruler and ask how she plans on dealing with it. If this gets any closer to our border, I will go and patrol to assess the situation. Have a group already prepared just in case I need them." Sesshōmaru said, seeing his generals nodded their head at his plan of tactic.

As more members brought up new topics of issue inside his nation, the door opened revealing a servant. He quickly walked past the generals bowing before Sesshōmaru before whispering to him.

"Your servant Jaken has ordered me to tell you that your ward, Rin, has been injured in the gardens." Sesshōmaru's eyes widened at his servant's words and looked down at him as he bowed his head in fear.

"Why was I not informed of this immediately?" He asked, getting up from his throne and quickly walking out of his meeting, completely ignoring his generals confused expressions. Sesshōmaru dashed to the gardens where Rin was said to be hurt, following her scent. The faintest scent of her blood appeared in the air and it sent him on high alerts making him run faster.

On his way to the garden, he saw layers of Rin's kimono scattered on the ground. Sesshōmaru could only think of the worst as his anger rose at who dared hurt his ward right under his nose in his own home. He entered the garden to see a crowd of his harem and servants whispering words that his mind could not process as he made himself known by growling. They soon backed away and his eyes landed on Rin who sat on the ground, holding her ankle which was swollen and purple. He immediately came to her side and scanned for another for other kinds of injury on her to only see little scratches of blood on her hands and face.

"What happened?" He asked, staring at his subjects who did not meet his eye and backed away further.

"I slipped." Rin answered, solemnly drawing back his attention. Sesshōmaru looked down at Rin who was finally looking back at him embarrassingly.

"I asked Shizuku to teach me a dance to summon the rain and slipped on the wet grass and sprained my ankle. It's nothing serious Kokō-dono, Kagome-san has taught me how to heal a sprained ankle." Rin answered truthfully.

Sesshōmaru, too shocked at the moment to process Rin's new way of addressing him, lifted her up in his arms and looked down at Rin's personal maid with anger. For her to make it rain and allow Rin to injure herself shows just how much of a failure she was.

"It's not Shizuku's fault," Rin spoke before he could, "It's mine for pressuring her to follow my request. She warned me against it, but I was too ignorant to understand her warning. Please do not punish her for a mistake I made her do. Please punish me instead."

Sesshōmaru looked down at Rin who was pleading at him. She had hardly pleaded for anything to him. What has the three months of separation done to her? He turned his attention to Shizuku who bowed before him shamefully.

"Two weeks in the dungeons for knowing you were going to do the wrong thing. Thank Rin for sparing you from getting whipped by me." He told the maid who nodded her head and bowed thanking him for her mercy and Rin for lessening her sentence.

Rin pouted as she looked at him wanting to speak against his order, but one sharp look from him made her not say another word in public. Two guards took Shizuku to the dungeons and Sesshōmaru carried Rin to her room needing her to wear more appropriate clothing than her undergarments while out in public. When he reached her room, he slid the door open and set her down on a chair, kneeling before her. He took off his robe and wrapped it around her to offer warmth when she started to shiver as the temperature in the air went down.

"Tell me exactly what happened Rin." He said kneeling down and took her cut hands and started to lick the wounds watching them heal instantaneously. He continued to lick all of her cuts until they were completely healed.

Rin bit her bottom lip and casted her eyes away from him, refusing to speak. Fed up with the behavior she has been displaying for the past three months, Sesshōmaru let himself express his anger. He stood up and threw the nearest object his hand could find across the wall. The loud crash startled Rin, making her jump up in the air and look at him fearfully. The fear in her eyes only made him angrier. It was an expression he had seen before but never directed at him. It only fueled his anger even more.

"Are you still upset with me that much for rejecting you? Is this why you are behaving so, Rin? Because you hate me now?" Sesshōmaru barked out, feeling his desire to kill grow stronger. Anger soon consumed his mind.

Rin quickly shook her head, reaching out to grab the sleeve of his kimono. She pulled him down to eye level with her and held his hand, massaging the tension from them trying her best to sooth him back to calmness.

"I could never hate you, Sesshōmaru-sama." She whispered, gripping his hands.

Sesshōmaru stared at her confused. Feeling his anger start to subside from finally getting the answer he had been waiting for.

"Then why have you been avoiding me if you do not hate me or are upset with me?" hHe asked, his voice much softer this time.

"I– because it still hurts to be in your presence. When I am with you, my feelings for you continue to grow and knowing that you will never return them pains me too much to handle. I had thought that if I distanced myself away from you the pain would start to fade and so would my feelings." Rin confessed, stopping her hands from running circles on his palm.

"And has the pain faded?" He asked, taking his hand back and cupping her cheek so she would look at him. Her brown eyes met his golden ones looking at him with pain and she shook her head and held on to his hand, nuzzling her cheek into his palm.

"It has gotten worse. It hurts more when you are not there besides me." Hearing those words made Sesshōmaru feel relieved. Rin is not upset or angry at him, but merely in pain and misses him.

"Then why were you in your undergarments dancing in the garden?" Rin giggled at his question and Sesshōmaru let himself be happy at hearing her laughter again. He scooted on the seat beside her, wrapping his mokomoko around her.

"When I was doing the rain summoning dance I felt restricted and weighed down by being in that many kimono layers. So, the easiest solution was to take it off." Rin explained smiling at the memory of dancing in the rain.

Sesshōmaru sighed at Rin's answer. Of course, she would feel restricted in that many layers. She has never worn a kimono before. Yukatas are much easier to move in than kimonos.

"Sesshōmaru-sama, please free Shizuku from the dungeons, it wasn't her fault that I slipped. If you must punish someone then punish me. I was the one who ordered her to do it." She pleaded looking at him in the eyes.

Sesshōmaru shook his head knowing that he was not being strict at all with his punishment. If Shizuku knew that summoning rain was going to be dangerous then she should have stood her ground and refused Rin's order. When he had assigned her, he told her that her main priority was to protect Rin at all times when he was not present and she had failed. However, an idea struck his mind when he looked down at his ward.

"Her sentence will change to ten days in the dungeon–"

"One night."

"Eight days."

"One day."

"Five days."

"Two days."

"Three."

"Deal, but she gets released that morning no exception." Rin argued sternly, making Sesshōmaru nod his head as he will get his way in the end no matter how long the maid is in the dungeon.

"Since she is in the dungeon for three days, you have agreed to take eleven days of her punishment on to yourself," Sesshōmaru began as Rin nodded, "then as your punishment, you will be confined to your bedchambers and work on your calligraphy for the remainder of those days."

Rin nodded her head and bowed in respect understanding his punishment for her. Being confined in her room will make her extremely bored and Sesshōmaru-sama knew how horrible she was at calligraphy, but if that is her first punishment from Sesshōmaru-sama then she will accept it with grace. Rin eyes widened at the realization at her punishment and opened her mouth to ask her question. If Sesshōmaru-sama didn't confine her to her room, she would have probably made it worse by walking on it. The main objective of why he was punishing her was to make sure her ankle fully healed.

"Question my punishment for you and your maid will spend all fourteen days in the dungeon." He said silencing her.

She closed her mouth and nodded her head, a smile forming on her lips. He will never cease to amaze her with his kindness.

"Thank you very much Kokō-dono, for showing mercy on Shizuku. I will forever be grateful for your kindness." Rin said bowing her head in respect. Sesshōmaru snarled in annoyance at the title she used to address him.

"Never call me that again. I have given you permission to address me by my name, so use it." He said, running his claws through her tangled wet hair. Rin laughed at his remark and shifted her body so she was resting against him, her head on his shoulder, like she did on her birthday.

"As you wish Sesshōmaru-sama." She said, taking his arm to wrap around her.

* * *

During Rin's punishment, Sesshōmaru had spent all eleven days with her. During his free time, he would come to visit and tutor her in the art of calligraphy. He taught her how to properly hold the brush, how to practice on writing the characters perfectly and had given her books to browse through. Even though Rin was not fond of calligraphy, she tried her best to please him in her studies.

In her time of punishment, a new hobby Sesshōmaru had discovered Rin seems to love is when he brings books to her for her to read. Right after supper, he showed her the book he brought with him and Rin would smile with joy at his gift. She said that it made time go by faster when her mind is in another world by the power of words. And so, he brought her various kinds of books for her to read. During their suppers she would chatter away about what she had read or learned and very rarely he would comment in. This continued to happen even after Rin's punishment was over, but her ankle still hurt to properly walk on. Rin said that it should be another week for her to be able to put pressure on it again.

Sesshōmaru headed towards Rin's room when he was done with another council meeting. He quickly stopped inside his private study to bring the new book for Rin when he was greeted by a flock of his harem with Susuki leading them.

"Kokō-dono." They greeted, with a bow.

"What is the problem?" he asked, walking away from them as they quickly followed.

"We are concerned," One of them stated nervously, "about how much time you seem to be spending with your ward than your harem."

Sesshōmaru stopped dead in his tracks at her words. He turned around, his eyes narrowing at them as they took a step back.

"Explain." He said glaring down at the female Yōkai who spoke.

"Your harem is simply concerned by your ward, Kokō-dono." Susuki spoke softly stepping up to protect her.

"Ever since you came back with that little human none of us have seen you at all. We deeply miss you and want to be in your company again, Kokō-dono. We are afraid that you have grown bored of us since you have not visited us in our beds." Hanoka complained, pouting as she looked at Sesshōmaru in the eyes. Her emerald eyes shining with seductiveness.

"Why did you even bring her in Kokō-dono? She doesn't fit in in your palace. Her etiquette, speech, and behavior are all completely inappropriate. She doesn't bow when addressing you, doesn't know when to stop talking and eats with her bare hands! Since she has started living here all of the servants had started to gossip about her strange behavior. One servant saw her in the kitchens cooking her own food! Another saw her coming back from on the two headed-dragon covered in mud. She acts like she is a wild animal born for the forest and not in a civilized palace amongst us high born. Servants and guards were whispering about how they saw her stripping down to undergarments, in broad daylight to dance! How can you not see that that foul human does not belong here?! She is ruining your glorious reputation! You should just kill her already!" Ayano shrieked her voice getting louder and louder as she talked.

Sesshōmaru felt his anger rise as each word slipped out of her mouth. He already knew Rin did not follow his Western customs and he didn't care if she wanted to or not. He won't make Rin bond to such tradition of the royal court. Rin is his ward and he protects her to be who she is.

"Who I spend my time with is none of your concern. The only thing all of you should care about is if you are appealing enough for me to sleep with again. For your insulting words against my ward, Ayano, you shall receive fifty whips tonight by me. Prepare your bedroom for the punishment." Sesshōmaru explained, walking away from his harem.

"B-but why, Kokō-dono? I only speak with truth!"

Sesshōmaru turned around and glared at her with his cold, murderous eyes. "An insult to my ward is basically an insult to me. As the ruler of the Western Lands, you are below me and those who insult me get punished."

He walked away from his haram, ignoring Ayano's cries of apology. When he reached Rin's bedchambers and opened the door he saw her lounging in her chair playing with her crescent moon pin next to the window watching the view outside. Her eyes followed the birds flying back to their nest, humming the same melody he had heard ever since she was little. The sunset light shining on her made her look radiant. She turned her head and smiled at him and patted a seat next to him for him to take.

"Why are you early Sesshōmaru-sama? You usually come when dinner is about to be served." Rin asked.

"The council meeting ended early." He answered.

"Oh? Does this mean that you will show me what book you brought this time?" She asked as he took out a book from his sleeve. Rin gasped when seeing it and snatched the book from his hands. A book about the meaning of flowers. She immediately flipped the pages and began reading out loud. Sesshōmaru closed his eyes, listening to her soothing voice as she spoke.

* * *

A month after Rin's punishment, Sesshōmaru left for patrol to secure his border connecting the Southern region. He traveled for seven months inspecting the border and making sure the rebellion did not spread and reach past his border. Those seven months felt like a long seven days. Sesshōmaru realized that without Rin by his side, it was always difficult for him to determine how much time had passed. In those seven dreadful months he had missed Rin. He missed waking up and immediately seeing her happy face. He missed having their dinners together, conversations, and strolls. Simply put, he missed Rin's whole being.

When the border was secured, he did not hesitate to come rushing back to see Rin. When he landed on his palace grounds in search for Rin, her personal maid had told him that she did not want to see him. Shortly after that, she started to avoid him again. Canceling their dinners, then strolls in the garden, and even went so far as to dash out of the rooms and halls when she saw him. And now it seems that she won't even talk to him anymore.

Sesshōmaru, for some reason he could not see what had caused Rin to start to avoid him again. Was she mad that he had disappeared for so long without warning? Sesshōmaru knew that Rin would be upset about it, but to go this far as to not talk to him anymore? It seemed very unlike Rin to do such a thing. Or perhaps it was something he had done before he left? He tried to remember anything, but nothing seemed to be wrong when they were together; none of his actions should have made her upset. Was she still in pain? Or maybe she was going through her monthly moon cycle? But does that cause a woman's mood to be depressed for weeks? As much as he wanted to fix the problem, he didn't know how with human woman's complex emotions. And so, like a cycle, when Rin avoided him, he went Susuki.

"How much do you know about human women's emotions during their moon cycle?" He asked, and traced circles on Susuki's smooth skin.

Susuki looked at him and blinked, her golden eyes confused. She sat up and pinned her silky silver hair up into a loose half bun and crawled on top of him, straddling his legs.

"Are you still concerned about your ward? It has been almost a year since she has entered this palace and you are still fussing over her." She said softly pressing her head against his cheek, her breast, pressing against his bare chest.

"I cannot seem to figure out Rin's emotions anymore. One second she is cheery and happy to see me and the next she is shy and runs away at the sight of me. Did you follow my order and keep an eye on her? How was she when I was gone?" Sesshōmaru asked moving away from Susuki to pick his robes off of the floor.

"I hardly ever saw your ward. None of the servants or guards saw much of her either. She was always by herself cooped up in her bedroom with her personal maid. She never talked to any of your harem or the other servants. She acted like a ghost, only spoken about, but never seen," Susuki said pausing her speech when an idea struck her mind, "Perhaps I could talk to her. She may feel more comfortable talking about it with another woman than a man, Kokō-dono. She may be very lonely to be in a palace with only Yōkais to interact with. From what you have said she does not seem to know much about Yōkais." Susuki offered with a seductive smile.

Sesshōmaru thought of her offer and didn't think it was a bad idea. If Rin felt too uncomfortable to discuss it with him about women matters then maybe another woman will make her open up more. Having another female like Susuki as a mentor may just be what Rin needs right now when her only female friend is her personal maid.

"Very well. Try and figure out what is making her so depressed about being here and report back to me immediately." He said, ignoring Susuki's hands roaming his body as he turned around to leave.

"Yes Kokō-dono. I will send my personal maid and invite her for tea tomorrow afternoon in the gardens. Why don't you stop by and visit in the early afternoon? I'm sure after our discussion, your ward may be more open to talk to you." Susuki said with a smile, bowing as Sesshōmaru walked out of her bedchambers.

The next morning, Sesshōmaru sighed and waited for tomorrow afternoon to happen, wanting to figure out what exactly was the matter with Rin and her mood swings. He stood up from his chair and exited his private study to head to the gardens, by now Susuki should already have a few hours to talk with Rin.

On his way there, he heard gossip of his servants speaking about a commotion that was happening from the gardens. Overhearing the names of 'Rin' and 'Susuki' in the same sentence, he rushed to the gardens not liking how fast the servants were already gossiping.

_Slap!_ He heard when he entered the gardens.

"Being human does not make anyone weak, so don't go stereotyping and acting like you're superior than everyone! At least I'm not some power-hungry whore whose only goal in life is to be a broodmare just so you can have the title as the future Lady of the West! I at least have dignity in myself as an actual person unlike you!" Rin shouted furiously. That was the angriest thing that Sesshōmaru had ever heard from his ward.

"You, insignificant human! You dare insult and raise your hand against a member of Kokō-dono's harem!" yelled Susuki's personal maid standing up to strike.

"Rin!" Sesshōmaru yelled, interrupting the argument, shocked by what he had seen. Never in his life would he ever imagine that he would have to raise his voice against Rin, much less ever see her be violent against someone and call them insulting names.

Rin whipped her head to look at him in surprise as if it was the first time she ever saw him standing before her. She held his gaze for a few moments before shifting towards Susuki who bowed at his entrance and bit her lip looking down ashamed.

"What is the meaning of this?" He demanded, glaring at both of the women.

"Kokō-dono, this wild human of yours attacked Susuki-sama! She deserves punishment immediately!" The maid quickly accused, snarling at Rin.

Rin's angry eyes immediately burned holes in the maid's head. "Liar! This whole tea meeting was a set up to humiliate me in front of everyone to make yourself look good!" Rin defended immediately looking up at him.

"Kokō-dono, that is not true. You know that I would never do something as disgraceful as this. You allowed me to invite her for tea to help become more comfortable here. Your ward must have misinterpreted my words and perceived kindness as being demeaning, but I would never go out of my way to purposely humiliate her." Susuki said softly which only made Rin angrier.

"That is exactly what you have been doing! You are so power hungry that you purposely target everyone you deem threatening to your goal just to make yourself look good in front of Sesshōmaru-sama." Rin argued sharply.

Sesshōmaru narrowed his eyes at the arguments from both sides. Clearly neither one of them were going to back down and come tell the truth. While he knows that Rin will never lie to him, these past few weeks have been hard for him to tell exactly what is going on in Rin's head. And Susuki is not the kind of Yōkai who will be cruel to someone without feeling threatened. Sesshōmaru looked at Rin and Susuki. It was hard for him to believe who is telling the truth, but from what he has stumbled upon it seems Susuki was the one who had been wronged for being physically injured and insulted.

"No matter what the dispute is about, Rin you know better than to hurt someone who is trying to help you. Apologize to Susuki right now and I will look past this." Sesshōmaru said, seeing Rin look at him the most hurt and betrayal he has ever seen from her. He knew that it would hurt her of choosing Susuki's side, but she needs to learn that her actions will never get her away with something this unlawful.

"I won't," Rin snarled looking back at Susuki hatefully, "I won't apologize to someone who victimizes themselves to gain attention. She doesn't deserve anything from me."

Sesshōmaru looked at Rin shocked. He had never seen her look so hateful, so disgusted. He could not ever imagine the happiest child in the world would ever produce such an expression.

"Rin," Sesshōmaru warned, "if you do not apologize then expect punishment."

Rin looked back at him in the eye with a challenging stare. She raised her nose up in the air, not backing down causing the Yōkai's around them to gasp at her defiant behavior.

"Then I will await my punishment." She said turning and walking away from both of them.

Everyone in the garden gasped at the challenge Rin showed against him and whispered at how bold the human is. Sesshōmaru is shocked by the display from Rin. She has never rebelled against him before, always so eager to please him. What has happened to Rin to make her act this way? He looked at Susuki who also had a clear expression of shock.

"Set up your room tonight. I want to know everything that has happened this afternoon. And be sure to tell the truth." He threatened Susuki, seeing how she had clearly done something to have triggered Rin into this kind of misbehavior.

* * *

Sesshōmaru barged open Susuki's bedroom door and slammed it shut. His mood since he left the garden had not improved at all. During the following council meeting, his generals kept asking him about what had happened in the garden and why Rin rebelled against him. Not only did he have to deal with a troubled Rin, but also did not get any updates on he patrol since his had to end the meeting too early.

"Tell me what exactly happened this afternoon." He demanded, seeing Susuki sitting down at her table with two cups of sake.

"It is exactly as I had told you in the garden, Kokō-dono. She perceived my words as being insulting and demeaning," Susuki softly spoke, handing him a cup, "I followed your order and invited your ward for tea. She accepted and rudely showed up an hour late, claiming that she had overslept. I asked her questions like, how does she like living in the palace, what are her favorite things to do, and even simple ones like if she liked the food here. She did not respond to any of those questions. Though when I brought you up into the conversation she became quite talkative. I believe it was when I said that she could, never live with you forever did she start to show her anger. I merely stated that she could never live as long as you could which seemed to have angered her even more when she began to yell at me. I tried my best to calm her down, but she continued with her rants and hit me up until you showed up. I apologize for not being able to reach her Kokō-dono, but she seemed very closed off towards anyone but you and her personal maid."

Sesshōmaru listened to Susuki's statement, trying to piece together what exactly is true and what isn't. While he believes the majority of what Susuki says is true, there is one thing that does not make sense to him.

"Why did you not dodge her hit?" He asked, seeing a flaw in her statement.

Susuki looked at him surprised as she placed her sake down on the table.

"What?" She asked, her heart skipping a beat. Sesshōmaru narrowed his eyes at her.

"Are you deaf? You are a noble of InuYōkai descent and yet you easily allowed a human to strike you in public when you could have stopped it. Now everyone in my palace saw how weak you were by allowing that to happen. It seems you foolishly allowed my ward to hurt your pride tremendously." Sesshōmaru commented, taking the cup of sake to drink seeing how Susuki's elegant façade started to crack with her tight smile.

"She caught me off guard Kokō-dono. Had I known your ward was violent, I would have put up my guard. I was too busy trying to calm her emotions down to notice her attack. Besides if I tried to dodge it, I would have most likely attack back and have killed her." Susuki deflected, trying to keep her façade up.

"Rin is not violent unless she is extremely provoked. What did you say that made her upset?" He asked.

"I said nothing triggering. Besides, for you to believe your ward so innocent of not being violent, then perhaps you do not know her as well as you think. Forgive me for being so blunt Kokō-dono, but you have given your ward far too much freedom in your palace. I think all that freedom and power has gone to her head and made her believe she can do whatever she pleases and not get punished simply because she is your ward. Have you ever punished your ward for breaking your laws?" Susuki asked keeping her calm composure.

Sesshōmaru growled at Susuki's words. "Rin has done nothing of that sort."

Susuki smiled slyly. A smile Sesshōmaru knew all too well when she set her trap to catch her prey, and he fell right into it blindly.

"I believe your ward has already broken one of your laws. 'One shall never lay thy hand against my harem or their punishment is getting whipped'. I wonder how many strikes your ward is going to get." Susuki smiled satisfactory, pouring herself another cup of sake.

Sesshōmaru snarled at Susuki for setting this whole thing up. He should have known she would do something like this. A master plan of putting all her pieces into the perfect place and time and then strike. He should have expected nothing less from his mother's star pupil of devious schemes. His anger started to boil when he pieced together the puzzles when he realized she must be the reason for Rin's avoidance towards him. In the past, when he was younger he was intrigued by how cunning Susuki was. How instead of using her strength, she used her intelligence as her source of power for her ambitions. That is what made him choose her to be a part of his harem and also the reason why she was his favorite. For her to use her power against him and have no concrete evidence connected to her other than speculation pissed Sesshōmaru off.

"What is your reason for doing this?" He asked. The big part of the puzzle he cannot figure out.

Susuki laughed at his question. Laughed at him like he was an idiot.

"That human is unfit to deserve any of your attention, much less being titled your ward. You are the most powerful Yōkai of all the four nations and you expect the highest out of your subjects except from that human who gets all the freedom to do whatever she pleases. I have worked hard to earn my position as your favorite in your harem and I have never received any of the kind of affection you give to that human. I wasn't going to let some little girl take all my hard work away." Susuki admitted truthfully, her eyes burning with determination.

Once upon a time, that look would have seduced him completely, but now he was completely disgusted by it. He got up from his seat needing to go to Rin and ask her what Susuki had done to her since he was gone.

"Are you going to punish her?" Susuki asked with a smile on her lips.

Sesshōmaru glanced at her, knowing she had a ulterior motive for asking that question.

"If you don't punish her, then it shows how weak you are for not being able to keep your subjects in line, especially a human. It proves to everyone that you are just like your father, an incompetent ruler who trembles to the knees for human wome–"

Sesshōmaru took Susuki by her neck and slammed her against the table, breaking it in half. She struggled for a bit before getting out of his hold and struck back, scratching his cheek as he took her wrist and flung her across the room breaking the doors. He watched her tumble on the ground before immediately getting back up growling at him.

"I am nothing like him!" He barked.

"Then prove it!" Susuki barked back, her face transforming into her true Inu form.

Sesshōmaru gritted his teeth knowing what Susuki real goal was. She knew that everyone in his palace would already know what had happened in the garden. And when someone breaks the law, Sesshōmaru usually orders them to be whipped or flogged for their disobedience and the sound of someone getting whipped is not hard to miss either. She purposely put him into a tight corner for this exact reason. To see if he has the guts go through with her scheme and hurt Rin. The bile in his stomach rose at the thought of physically punishing Rin for her crime for breaking a law. He knows the threat that will come if he does not do as Susuki planned. It will make him look like his father. His subjects will see him as a weak, unfit ruler who falls to the floor for a human woman. Not only that, but some of his generals would happily challenge him for the throne to the Western Lands.

"You're dismissed." Sesshōmaru ordered looking at Susuki dead in the eyes.

Susuki's golden eyes widened in surprise. "Excuse me?"

"You are officially dismissed from my harem and are banned from the Western Palace. I expect you to not be here by morning." Sesshōmaru ordered coldly.

"You can't kick me out! I did nothing wrong!"

"You went after Rin!" Sesshōmaru snapped, silencing her, "Those who dare go target her, target me as well. This is my palace and as a member of my harem, I can do whatever I want without my council intervening. I am kicking you out because if you are not out at sun rise, I will challenge you to a duel and kill you. Consider this my gift of affection for showing you mercy."

Sesshōmaru left Susuki and headed towards Rin, knowing she must be in a tremendous amount of pain that he caused.

* * *

Sesshōmaru stood in front of Rin's bed room door hearing her silently cry to her personal maid. He clenched his fists together, feeling his claws digging into his palms piercing the skin. He should have predicted his harem would go after Rin. After leaving Susuki's room, he scolded himself for not seeing how badly Rin had been treated and for then leaving her here alone. Sesshōmaru promised himself long ago to never hurt Rin and yet he keeps breaking his promise to her. He knocked on the door gently, hearing Rin stop crying.

"Who is it?" She asked weakly.

"Sesshōmaru." He replied.

The door quickly opened by Shizuku who bowed at his arrival. Sesshōmaru nodded at her, signaling for her to leave them. When she closed the door behind him, Sesshōmaru immediately went to Rin's side finally seeing how sick she looked. Pale skin, with dark circles under her eyes, and hollowed cheekbones.

_How could I have missed seeing her in such a weak state?_

Sesshōmaru bit his lip feeling the blood start to drip, punishing himself for being so blind. He gently pulled Rin into his arms, burying his nose into her temple smelling her. He had missed her scent, the scent of rain and lilies.

"I'm so sorry for allowing to happen. Please forgive me." He whispered into her ear, tightening his hug.

He felt Rin stiffen, before melting into his arms, hugging him back with all her might burying her face into his chest. They held each other, making up for all the times he was gone and when she avoided him. Both immersing themselves into one another.

"I missed you so much, Sesshōmaru-sama." Rin whispered as Sesshōmaru melted at hearing his name. He greatly missed hearing his name from Rin's lips.

"I missed you too, Rin," He replied kissing her temple gently, "Why did you not tell me that you were treated horribly by my harem?"

Rin stiffened again, pulling away from his hug, but held onto his hands.

"I was going to, but then you suddenly disappeared without a word and left for patrol. I tried to fight back, but they would gang up on me and overpower me. Making assumptions about me, spreading lies, targeting my insecurities. I found that no matter how much I tried to fight back, telling them that none of those things were true, it didn't stop them. Being locked in my room was far easier since I didn't have to deal with them anymore." Rin explained looking at their joined hands.

"Was Susuki the main person who started all of this?" Sesshōmaru asked.

Rin flinched at the name and nodded her head.

"She went after me the most. Bragging about how she was your favorite and how one day she will be your future mate and Lady of the West and so on. They would never physically hurt me knowing how slow humans heal, but that didn't stop them from their verbal abuse and petty actions." Rin continued.

Sesshōmaru sighed and nodded. He will deal with the other members of his harem later. Right now, he needed to explain to Rin about her punishment.

"You were right about Susuki."

"Which part?" Rin asked, tilting her head.

"Everything. She set the whole tea meeting up to frame you. She wanted you to assault her in public for everyone to know that I would have to whip you for breaking a law. That was her goal. For me to punish you or else I will look just like my father." Sesshōmaru admitted.

Rin let go of his hands, looking at him with doubtful eyes. A look physically hurt him. How broken their trust must be right now for Rin to seriously doubt him for not hurting her. If he ever saw Susuki again, he's going to kill her for the trauma Rin must have gone through in those painful seven months for her to think like that.

"A-are you going to punish me?" Her bottom lip started to tremble with tears wetting her eyes.

"No," he said, shaking his head, "I could never Rin." He cupped her cheeks to wipe her tears.

"B-but if you don't, then your people will think poorly of you and your reputation will be tainted." Rin objected, but Sesshōmaru kissed her forehead, silencing her.

"I surpassed my father in power and reputation long ago. If they see me as unfit then they are free to leave my lands. If they challenge me, I will gladly put them in their place. Nothing in this world will ever make me hurt you."

Rin looked at him with pure joy and slammed their lips together. Sesshōmaru didn't even have time to think twice about what was going on before Rin pulled back and hugged him.

"I love you, Sesshōmaru-sama!" she confessed burying her face once more into his chest before pressing their lips together.

Sesshōmaru's eyes widened at the contact. This has been the second time Rin has surprised kissed him. He looked down at her to see her smiling happily again like she always did. He patted her head running his claws through her silky raven black hair, his lips feeling the burning sensation of Rin's. He lightly smiled at how easily Rin can get him off guard and wrapped his mokomoko around them. There really was nothing in this world that could possibly make him ever hurt Rin and if there is then he will destroy them first before they even ever think twice about it.

* * *

Two years passed since the incident with Susuki and in those two years, their strained relationship grew stronger than ever with the new trust they have in each other. They spent the first month mending their bond, while Sesshōmaru investigated those who took part in mistreating Rin. When he banished Susuki from his harem and palace, the Yōkais in his palace had become weary of Rin. Four days after his investigation was complete, he dismissed them from his palace as well and made a new law that those who dare go after his ward will face the consequences. And needless to say, his subjects followed through. Rin has not spoken to him nor had he heard of any mistreatment from his people. He spent all of his time with Rin, doing things they used to do to try and make her happy. It didn't take long for her to get there, but there was always this wall that Rin seemed to put up between them when he got too close. A wall Sesshōmaru wanted to knock down but did not know how.

In the two years that passed, they happened in a blink of an eye for Sesshōmaru. Literally. The speed of time, started to move faster without him noticing it. Every Yōkai around him did not changed in the two years, they looked the same, acted the same, behaved the same. The only reason why he noticed two years have passed was because of Rin. From seventeen to nineteen, she has grown into a beautiful mature young woman. She didn't act like a rambunctious child anymore, but a noble woman with great beauty and elegance that could even overthrow nobles Yōkais.

Tales of his ward's existence spread all around the West and with each day passed, they said she grew more and more beautiful. Then humans from his land sent requested for Rin's hand in marriage, asking him to give her as their wife. At first Sesshōmaru was furious that they would ask for her hands in marriage for a political status to try and have ties with him but remembered that Rin was growing older and soon will be too old to be a wife and to bear pups.

When he first told Rin of the marriage proposal, she laughed it off as a joke and politely declined their offer. But soon after several messages of asking for her hand in marriage, she did not find it a joke anymore but a nuisance, asking him to decline all marriage proposals that came her way. Curious as always with Rin, Sesshōmaru asked her why.

"Because I would be taken away from you, Sesshōmaru-sama. And I wouldn't be free to do what I would want. I would be stuck in a new palace with expectations to only bear babes and look pretty. I would be confined, stripped of everything that I am and only be known as my husband's wife and not Rin. I refuse to live that kind of life." Rin said huffing out her annoyance at the high rate of demands for marriage for her.

"But what about pups? Do you not want them?" He asked feeling something light enter his chest at her words.

Rin looked at him shyly at his question, sitting down next to him with her cup of tea.

"I would like children but I do not want to get married. And to have them out of wedlock would ruin your image. Just imagine the gossip that would spread like wildfire. 'Sesshōmaru-sama's ward had a child out of wedlock, what improper raising has he done for her to be a whore!' Or something outrageous like that." Rin exaggerated, sipping on her tea. Sesshōmaru's eyes narrowed at the way Rin could casually address herself in such a derogatory way.

"Don't call yourself something so low as that, Rin." He said petting her head. Rin smiled and nodded.

Soon summer was about to approach again and it meant that Rin would be turning twenty. Another birthday to celebrate meaning another year had passed without him realizing it. He walked towards his private study needing to read some scrolls and to check to see if Rin's gifts would be here on time when he saw a golden figure move from the corner of his eye. He turned his attention to see what it was and blinked at the sight of Rin, hiding behind a door.

Sesshōmaru looked from above as to what Rin was doing at such a late night and followed her trail as she dashed quickly passed through guards and hid in a corner. She peeked her head through to see if any more guards were coming her way and sprinted towards the forest. Sesshōmaru got intrigued and followed her from above and saw her slow down once she reached the lake. He sat down on top of a branch and wondered what his ward was doing running to the woods so late at night. He saw her hide behind a tree, his sharp ears picking up the sound of fabric falling.

Next thing he heard before he could comprehend why she was stripping in the woods at night was the sound of water splashing. He looked down and saw her head come up, a smile bright on her face. He sat there for a few minutes just watching her swim in the lake freely, transfixed by how beautiful she looked. He jumped down from his spot and decided to make his presence known.

He walked near the edge of the lake to see parts of her kimono lying unkempt on the ground along with her undergarments and the hairpin he gave to her. He looked to where Rin was and saw her underwater figure swimming towards him as she popped her head up wiping the water from her eyes to see him. She blinked for a second processing that he was standing before her and shrieked in surprise ducking herself underwater.

"Sess–Sesshōmaru-sama! What are you doing here?" she asked, swimming away from him and towards a boulder to hide behind.

"I was on my way to my study when I saw you sneaking out. I got curious and followed you here. Why are you here?" Sesshōmaru asked, seeing a bright blush on her face from embarrassment.

"I-I came here to swim." She said quietly.

"Swim?"

"Mmn, I haven't been able to swim at all since being here and I miss it. Which is why I sneak out at night to do so. I've been safe on not having been getting caught by the guards because Shizuku-chan helped me figure out an route that keeps me from getting caught. Now turn around, so I can get dressed. It's improper for a man to see an unmarried woman naked." Rin ordered.

Sesshōmaru raised his brow at her command but followed suit. Lots of thoughts pondered his mind at Rin's words. Her personal maid helped her sneak out at night to swim and not once, but on a regular occasion. If Rin had wanted to swim and told him, he would have easily built a pool for her. Sesshōmaru heard her swim towards him, seeing a thin, pale arm reach out for her kimono and undergarments before swimming away behind some bushes to get dressed.

"Ok. You can turn around now." Rin said, giving him the clear.

"When did this habit of yours start?" He asked, picking up her hairpin from the ground.

"Hmm…about a year ago? It's been a relaxing way for me to get away from everything." She explained walking into his view.

"Is someone causing you trouble again?" He immediately asked, his mind still fresh from Susuki's actions.

Rin shook her head, relaxing his worry.

"No, it's my way of getting away from the palace to relax. Even though the Yōkais have treated me nicely, I can still feel their judgmental eyes on me. It's not something that can be easily fixed after a short amount of time." Rin said reaching for her hairpin in his hand, but he pulled away wanting to do it.

"I wish I could do something to make you more comfortable." He sighed, taking some of her hair and wrapping it around the hairpin and sticking it in, giving Rin her signature side ponytail.

Rin smiled and touched the string of pearls on the pin.

"You've done more than enough, Sesshōmaru-sama. I owe you my life for bringing me back and for everything you've done for me. I can't even begin to express how grateful I am towards you. You saved me so many times and showed me so much kindness that no matter how many lifetimes I live, I could never fully repay you. There are no words to describe how much I love you. From your silent glances, to kind words, and gentle hands, it makes me fall in love with all of you again and again. I would never change a thing in my life if it means that I get to be with you. You've given me the best gift in life that no money can ever buy. You filled my whole heart with love and happiness. A gift so great that I will serve the rest of my life trying to repay you back for everything that you gave me."

Sesshōmaru cupped Rin's cheek and pressed their lips together.

Hearing her words, brought such an unfamiliar feeling in his chest that he can only describe as love. Seeing her look so magnificent and expressing such beautiful words, made him want to have all of her. He pressed her close to him, feeling her hands grasp her robes and putting more pressure into his kiss. He ran his hands down her wet hair, pressing her body against the nearest tree as they broke for air. He looked down at her flushed cheeks and swollen lips and went in again, nibbling on her lips making her moan as he shoved his tongue inside her. Rin tried to fight back but was overpowered by him as he took control. Once they broke again, Rin was panting heavily for she had never been kissed this passionately before, but it didn't stop Sesshōmaru from moving down from her cheek to her neck. He licked, kissed and nipped his fangs all over her neck, marking her as his.

"S-Sesshōmaru-sama." Rin gasped, gripping his arm to stop him.

Sesshōmaru pulled back to see his other hand had traveled down to grope her breast. He let go and opened to his mouth to apologize for going too fast for her, when Rin pulled him into a hug.

"I'm sorry. It was just going too fast for me to keep up. I don't want to rush into something I've never done before." She whispered.

Sesshōmaru shook his head, knowing he should have slowed down for her. Rin wasn't like his harem who knew how he liked things, she was new to this. Someone as precious to him as Rin should never be rushed.

"No, the fault lies with me." Sesshōmaru said, nuzzling her cheek with light kisses as his way of apologizing.

Rin giggled and happily kissed his lips once, then twice, then again.

"I love you, Sesshōmaru-sama." Rin beamed at him, smiling so beautifully it seemed unreal.

Just looking at that happy smile made his chest feel even lighter. It was like he was being set free for the first time. Everything in his life that made him truly happy, was standing right in front of him. She was hugging him, smiling at him, and loving him. Rin, he saw differently, was now a woman before his very eyes.

"I love you too, Rin." He whispered, against her ear making her gasp with surprise.

They looked at one another with a new pair of eyes, both admiring how they looked different than before. Sesshōmaru leaned down, closing the distance between them, but Rin pushed forward, smashing their lips together. She laughed during the process, having to stop to breathe. But Sesshōmaru didn't mind, hearing her laughter was always worth it.

"I love you." He said again, kissing her one last time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment they give me inspiration to continue writing! I love knowing what you guys think of this story!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoy reading this and I am currently working on the second chapter. This story is also inspired by the theme of time that revolves around Sesshōmaru and Rin, so pay close attention to how time moves as the story goes on. Again, once my Beta is done reviewing this chapter, I will upload it so you guys do not have to continue reading all my grammatical mistakes. :) The song Rin sings is called "Fake Wings" from the anime ./Hack Sign.
> 
> Please comment and tell me what you guys think!!


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